The Black Lives Matter demonstrations have turned violent in central Brussels, with protesters setting fires, vandalizing a police vehicle and, at one point, allegedly throwing stones at the Belgian monarch’s car.
King Philippe was traveling home to his castle, Laeken Palace, from his offices in Brussels on Wednesday when his car was surrounded, according to local reports and footage from the scene.
Photos from the European Pressphoto Agency show the king’s car in the middle of the protest; a pair of security guards followed on foot protecting the vehicle, identifiable by the license plate, which bears the number “1”.
There were no reports of injuries to the king or damage to his vehicle.
Four people remained in custody on Thursday at the protest, three of them accused of arson.
About 500 people were protesting the death, in police custody, of a 23-year-old black man whose identity has not been officially released.
The suspect tried to flee the Brussels police that enforced COVID-19 restrictions in the city center, officials said.
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